Job Chapter 31 | Parsha:
1I have covenanted with my eyes
Not to gaze on a maiden.
2What fate is decreed by God above?
What lot, by Shaddai in the heights?
3Calamity is surely for the iniquitous;
Misfortune, for the worker of mischief.
4Surely He observes my ways,
Takes account of my every step.
5Have I walked with worthless men,
Or my feet hurried to deceit?
6Let Him weigh me on the scale of righteousness;
Let God ascertain my integrity.
7If my feet have strayed from their course,
My heart followed after my eyes,
And a stain sullied my hands,
8May I sow, but another reap,
May the growth of my field be uprooted!
9If my heart was ravished by the wife of my neighbor,
And I lay in wait at his door,
10May my wife grind for another,
May others kneel over her!
11For that would have been debauchery,
A criminal offense,
12A fire burning down to Abaddon,
Consuming the roots of all my increase.
13Did I ever brush aside the case of my servants, man or maid,
When they made a complaint against me?
14What then should I do when God arises;
When He calls me to account, what should I answer Him?
15Did not He who made me in my mother’s belly make him?
Did not One form us both in the womb?
16Did I deny the poor their needs,
Or let a widow pine away,
17By eating my food alone,
The fatherless not eating of it also?
18Why, from my youth he grew up with me as though I were his father;
Since I left my mother’s womb I was her guide.
19I never saw an unclad wretch,
A needy man without clothing,
20Whose loins did not bless me
As he warmed himself with the shearings of my sheep.
21If I raised my hand against the fatherless,
Looking to my supporters in the gate,
22May my arm drop off my shoulder;
My forearm break off at the elbow.
23For I am in dread of God-sent calamity;
I cannot bear His threat.
24Did I put my reliance on gold,
Or regard fine gold as my bulwark?
25Did I rejoice in my great wealth,
In having attained plenty?
26If ever I saw the light shining,
The moon on its course in full glory,
27And I secretly succumbed,
And my hand touched my mouth in a kiss,
28That, too, would have been a criminal offense,
For I would have denied God above.
29Did I rejoice over my enemy’s misfortune?
Did I thrill because evil befell him?
30I never let my mouth sin
By wishing his death in a curse.
31(Indeed, the men of my clan said,
“We would consume his flesh insatiably!”)
32No sojourner spent the night in the open;
I opened my doors to the road.
33Did I hide my transgressions like Adam,
Bury my wrongdoing in my bosom,
34That I should [now] fear the great multitude,
And am shattered by the contempt of families,
So that I keep silent and do not step outdoors?
35O that I had someone to give me a hearing;
O that Shaddai would reply to my writ,
Or my accuser draw up a true bill!
36I would carry it on my shoulder;
Tie it around me for a wreath.
37I would give him an account of my steps,
Offer it as to a commander.
38If my land cries out against me,
Its furrows weep together;
39If I have eaten its produce without payment,
And made its [rightful] owners despair,
40May nettles grow there instead of wheat;
Instead of barley, stinkweed!
The words of Job are at an end.